Refrigerator



June 20, 1939 P. c. WARREN El AL 2,163,182

REFRIGERATOR Filed May 23, 1956 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 20, 1939. P. c.WARREN ET AL 2,163,182

REFRIGERATOR v Filed May 23, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fgd 2517 IZ g-Q251711 52 10 7 ffiveritfir Paul 0 Warren 6 wglzer fioydszon y W 'W anyJune 20, 1939. R WARREN AL 2,163,182

REFRIGERATOR Filed May 23, 1956 I S Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented June 20,1939 UNITED STATES 2,163,182 REFRIGERATOR Paul 0. Warren, Lakeside, andWalter Boydston, Niles, Mich.

Application May 23, 1936, Serial No. 81,462

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in refrigerators.

Oneobject of the invention is to provide a refrigerator, the circulationof cold air within which can be controlled for delivering the air to allof several food holding compartments to procure a more uniform or aselected refrigerating action. In conventional refrigerators the coldair from the evaporator units descends by gravity through or around theshelves in circuits determined more or less by the arrangement of thedishes, containers etc., on the shelves, with the result that thecirculation may be impeded in a particular portion of the storage spaceand accentuated in another, and substantial variations in refrigeratingaction obtained. With the present improvements the cold air from theevaporator unit is conducted to the bottom of the storage space by aduct, the walls of which separate the descending cold air current fromthe ascending currents of warmer air to prevent defiection and diffusionof the former by the latter,"

and facilitating the air circulation as a whole.

It is a further object of the invention to arrange the food holdingcompartments in tiers on opposite sides of the cold air duct whereby thecold air stream can be apportioned to each tier as varying refrigeratingrequirements may dictate.

Another'object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator having foodcompartments which are in the form of drawers having heat insulatedforward end walls which constitute the front of the refrigerator, theadjacent edges of contiguous drawers having gaskets which mutuallycooperate to provide a tight construction therebetween when the drawersare closed.

A'further object of the invention is to provide drawer compartmentswhich have the bottoms, and preferably the side walls, provided withopenings or vents to permit the circulation of air therethrough when thedrawers are closed, and improved automatically operable shutter orclosure members for said openings of the type disclosed in the Paul C.Warren Patent No. 1,943,643, granted January 16, 1934, whereby loss ofcold air from the opened drawers is avoided and excessive rise in,temperature within. the refrigerator is prevented during openingand-closing of the drawers.

Other objects relate to various features of construction and arrangementof parts which will be apparent from a consideration of the followingspecification and accompanying drawings, wherein:

' or culinary duties.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator embodying the presentimprovements.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a broken perspective of one of-the slidable food holdingdrawers or compartments.

Figure 7 is a broken sectional view taken on line l-l of Figure 4,illustrating an adjustable baiiie.

Figure 8 is a frontelevation of the refrigerator, showing a door of theair cooling-duct in which the evaporator coils are located in openposition and portions of adjacent drawer ends broken away.

sponding in height to a conventional table. The

top may be of vitreous enamel and constitutes a table top for use inperforming the usual kitchen The casing III is designed to accommodate anumber of drawers l2, I3 and H and a bin 15 at the right hand side forthe accommodation of cutlery, silver ware or food which does not requirerefrigeration.

Figure 9 is a broken sectional view taken on I The bin 15 is pivoted atl5a as shown in Fig- I ure 5 to enable the same to be tilted outwardly.

The bin is relatively short from front to rear to provide a chamber Itat the rear thereof for the accommodation of a refrigerator power andcom pressor-condenser unit indicated generally by the numeral ll, thechamber being separated from the bin and drawers by a double walledpartition l8. The rear wall of the chamber i6 is provided with adetachable aperture closure IS. The refrigerating unit ll may be ofconventional construction and per se forms no part of the presentimprovements.

As shown in Figure 2, the drawer and bin portion above described is notheat insulated while the remainder of the interior is provided withinsulating material 29 confined between the outer casing ill and top Hand an interior shell or lining 2| which defines the refrigeratingportion of the refrigerator. The refrigerating portion of the interioris divided into two sections 22 and 23 by two spaced partitions 24 and25 which define therebetween a cold air circulation duct 26. Thepartitions 24 and 25 extend throughout the depth of the interior of therefrigerating portion and are shown as attached by flanges 24a, 25a atthe upper ends thereof to the ceiling or roof of the lining 2|. Thepartitions are adequately spaced apart at their upper portions toaccommodate a conventional evaporator-coil unit therebetween, the unitbeing indicated by numeral 21. Ice trays 28 and drip pan 29 ofconventional forms are illustrated in association with the unit inFigures 2 and 8'. Condensed refrigerant is conducted to the evaporatorfrom the unit H by conduits now shown.

The partition 24 and 25 are provided with air.

inlet ports 24!), 25b respectively adjacent the upper ends thereof andwith outlet ports 24c, 25c at the lower ends. The forward face of theair duct 26 in the upper portion of which the evapovertical passages 38and 39 in section 22 and passages 40. 4| in section 23 as shown inFigure 2. The drawers are, provided with suitable slides 42 by means ofwhich they can readily be drawn outwardly of the respective sections toprovide access to the contents.

All the drawers of the two sections except drawer 36 are shown ashaving'openings 43 in the bottoms 44 and openings 45 in the side walls46 to admit the passage of air currents into and through the drawers torefrigerate the contents thereof. The vented drawers mentioned areprovided with shutters or closure members which are arranged to closethe openings automatically to entrap the cold air thereinwhen therespective drawers are drawn outwardly, and thus reduce the amount ofair of room temperature which is carried into the refrigerator when thedrawers are returned to closed position.

In Figure 6 a slidable closure member 41 in the form of a plate providedwith openings 41a is illustrated as disposed beneath a bottom 44 andclosure members 48 disposed on the outer vertical sides of the sidewalls 45 and provided with openings 43a. The closure members 43 areshown as secured to the bottom closure member 41 by inter-connectedtongues 49 to enable the closure members to be operated longitudinallyof the drawer by the same operating means. The closure members areslidably secured to the drawers by ears 59.]

The operating means for the closure members comprise a pair of headedstuds 5| extending rearwardly from the rear of the bottom closure member41 through apertured depending ears 52 carried by the rear wall 53 ofthe drawer. The

studs are arranged to abut the rear wall of the refrigerator lining whenthe respective drawers are closed, which eflects the forward shifting ofthe closure members to cause the apertures 41a, 43a thereof to registerrespectively with the openings 43 and 45 of the bottom and side walls.Currents of air can thus pass through the openings into the drawers andaround the contents thereof when the drawers are closed. When thedrawers are moved outwardly, springs 54, disposed on the studs 5|between the heads thereof and the cars 52, shift the closure membersrearwardly relatively to the drawer thereby moving. the apertures 41a,4341 out ofregistration with the respective openings 43 and 45 and thusclosing the latter and preventing gravitation of cold air through theopenings.

The lower drawer 36 of section 22 is illustrated as a hydratorcompartment for fresh vegetables and preferably has no openings in thebottom and side walls. The drawer-31, which is relativelydeep from topto bottom may be used for bottled beverages or the like.

All the drawer compartments except drawer 36 preferably are providedwith reticulated false bottoms 55 and may have similar side walls 56which prevent articles of food or dishes being so placed as to obstructthe e of air through the drawer openings and thus impairing circulationof cold air through the drawers.

. The door 3| and the fronts of the drawers of the respectiverefrigerating compartments are insulated as illustrated in Figures 3 and4. the fronts of the drawers 33 to 39 inclusive being designated 33a, to330 respectively.

As illustrated in Figure 3 the lower. edge of each drawer front and theupper edge of the subiacent drawer is provided with gaskets to provide atight seal therebetween when the drawers are closed. In Figure 11 anenlarged section of the contacting gaskets is illustrated. The gaskets41 are preferably of flexible material and are provided withconvolutions which extend longitudinally of the edges of the drawerfront and are so" arranged that the crests of the convolutions of thelower gaskets contact with the corresponding portions of the upperadjacent gas-.- kets when the drawers are closed, thus providing aseries of air spaces which insulate and seal the space between therespective drawer fronts. The gaskets, being flexible, do not bind oneupon the other to materially resist opening movement of a drawer. Toprevent the opening movement of one drawer causing an adjacent drawer tobe pulled outwardly also due to the slight friction between the same anddue to the action of the springs 54, the drawers preferably are providedwith ball catches 53 of conventional form which tend to retain thedrawers in closed position. Sockets 53:; (see Fig.. 6) in which thecatches seat when the drawers are in closed position, may be provided inone or more of the clips 53 of each drawer.

Similar gaskets are provided .on the vertical edges of the drawer frontsfor cooperation with corresponding gaskets carried by abutting edges ofadjacent drawers, as illustrated in Figure 10 or for cooperation withlike gaskets on the margins of the door openings as illustrated inFigures 9 and 13 to prevent-air leakage or heat transfer around thedrawers when closed.

It will be-seen that the air in the circulating air duct 26 will becooled by the unit 21 and being confined by the partitions 24, 25, theair will gravitate and pass. laterally from the duct through the outlets2lc, 25c and displace warmer air in the upper portions of the sections22, 23

through the respective intake ports 24b, 25b, which air, on becomingcooled by the unit, descends through the duct. The air thus movesupwardly, through the sections 22, 23 and in so doing passes through theopenings in the bottoms and side walls of the drawers and thence aroundthe content thereof and-also along the side walls in the passages 38 and39. Short circuiting of the air currents resulting in excessiverefrigeration of a portion of the storage space at the expense ofanother portion or portions due to improper arrangement of dishes orpackages is precluded by the described arrangement since all the aircooled by the unit must descend to-the bottom of .the storage space andproduces its major refrigerating effect during the forced upward passagethrough and around the food compartments.

In order to vary the flow of cold air to one section orthe other alaterally shiftable baflle or deflector'59 is provided on the floor ofthe storage compartment in alignment with the duct 26.

As illustrated this baiile comprises a sheet of metal of substantiallyconical shape in cross section and extending from the front to the rearwall of the, storage space. In Figure 7 the baffle is shown with slotsin the lateral portions through which project bolts 6| having wing nuts62 by means of which the baflle can be secured in the central positionshown in Figure 7 to apportion the flow of cold air equally to the tworefrigerating sections or in a position to one side of the centralposition to deflect more cold air to one section than to the other. Thusshould a quantity of fresh food be'placed in one section, the baflle canbe adjusted so as to deliver more cold air to that section. In the eventa user finds that the drawers of one section are opened more frequentlythan the drawers of another section, the baflle can be adjusted tocompensate for the greater refrigeration demand of the particularsection.

In Figures 12 and 13 the baflle or deflector 59 is shown with moreconvenient adjusting mechanism comprising a shaft 63 journaled at 64,-65, and having an operating handle 66 which is disposed inwardly of theends 36a and 38a. of the drawers 3i and 38 respectively, the post 30being provided with a recess 61 to accommodate the handle. The shaft isprovided with front and rear pinions 68 which mesh with racks 6! carriedby the bailie' 59 whereby movement of the handle in one direction shiftsthe baille in the same direction to vary the proportion of air de-'livered to the refrigerating sections. The bame can be convenientlyadjusted by pulling drawers 86, 38 outwardly a distance sufficient toprovide access to the handle which normally is concealed by the drawerends.

By means of the present improvements not only can a selectedrefrigerating effect as between the two sections be obtained, but a moreuniform temperature within the refrigerator can be maintained due .tothe air circulation arrangement and the loss of a minimum quantity ofcold air upon opening the drawers.

While we have shown and described certain embodiments of ourimprovements for the purpose of illustration, we do not wish to berestricted specifically thereto except as so limited by the appendedclaims.

We claim: Y

1. Arefrigerator provided with a pair of spaced partitions dividing theinterior into independent refrigerating sections and providing an airduct therebetween, inlet ports at the upper ends and outlet ports at thelower ends of said partitions,.

a coolingunit in said duct, a plurality of outwardly movable verticallyspaced food compart- -ments in each of said sections having openingsthrough which air can pass, said compartments having insulated forwardends arranged to cooperate mutually when in closed position to close theforward faces of the respective sections, and laterally adjustable meansat the lower .end of said duct for variably apportioning the airdelivered to said sections by said outlet ports.

2. A refrigerator provided with spaced partitions dividing the interiorinto separate refrigerating sections. said partitions having portsadjacent the upper and lower ends thereof and imperforate intermediatesections and defining therebetween an air circulation duct common tosaid sections, a cooling unit in said duct for cooling .the air streamdescending therethrough from the upper portions of said sections to thelower portions thereof, and outwardly movable food compartments in saidsections arranged in tiers and provided with openings whereby the airascending from said lower to said upper ports can circulate through saidcompartments.

3. A refrigerator provided with spaced parti through said outlets intothe respective sections and upwardly through the latter and through saidinlets into said duct, and a laterally adjustable baiile disposedadjacent one end of said partitions for controlling the flow of airthrough the adjacent ports.

. PAUL C. WARREN.

WALTER BOYDSTON.

